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by Jayaram V
When we attempt to understand the nature of a religion, first we
have to examine the thought process that went into the formation of that religion. The purpose of this article is to examine whether Hinduism relies upon any particular text as the basis of its existence.
A religion with too many gospels
If we look at modern day Hinduism, we realize that in contrast to other major religions, it does not rely exclusively upon any particular scripture, though it derives its inspiration from various sources starting with the Vedas called shrutis, the smritis, the agamas, the shastras, the darshanas, the Bhagavad-Gita, the great body of Vaishnava literature, the works of Shri Shankaracharya, Shri Ramanujacharya and so on.
But it is difficult to say that all Hindus would derive inspiration from these books equally or venerate them equally. Some might not even bother to read or follow these books, but would simply go by the teachings of their respective gurus or great teachers. Some might even read the Bible or the Koran and appreciate the similarities in teachings between them and the books of Hinduism.
And if we look at the whole lot of illiterate people of India who constitute almost 50 % of the population, who are mostly Hindus, we realize the incredible and unquestionable impact of tradition rather than any particular scripture on the religious life of Indian Hindus.
Unlike their counterparts in medieval Europe who were regarded by the Church as a special responsibility, although the poorer sections of Hindu society remained for most of the time in the long and checkered history of the religion, mostly outside the purview of any organized religious activity, their loyalty to the traditions of their ancestors has been unquestionable.
Their religion might be termed by the modern scholars as folk religion, based on simple faith. But they were very much Hindus at heart and were equally moved by a mythological story from the puranas, and the epics like the Ramayana or the Mahabharata.
The Vedas (Shrutis) and the Bhedas (Apasrutis) !
During the Vedic period there was little confusion as to the importance and supremacy of sacred literature. The Vedas were considered to be very sacred and eternal, the Shrutis, or the books that were as" heard". But during the subsequent period, a lot of rival literature gathered ammunition against the Vedas questioning their supremacy and challenging their religious validity.
Foremost among them were the Buddhist literature, the Jaina literature, Sankhya literature, the beliefs of the Lokayatas or Charvakas and interestingly even substantial portions of the Bhakti or devotional literature including the Bhagavad-Gita which was the true spirit behind the Bhakti movement.
Rise of vernacular literature
With the rise of native dialects came into existence a vast corpus of religious literature in several native languages. This coupled with the decline of Sanskrit as the medium of communication even among the scholarly sections of society made the Vedas lose much of their religious glitter, although they retained some titular authority through the surviving Vedic traditions, kept alive by the priestly class.
It is interesting to note that even after the native tradition came face to face with Islam, the Vedas did not become the authoritative and unquestionable source of religious knowledge for the natives on the lines of Koran, although a number of new practices, partly based on the practices of Islam and partly as a reaction against them, came to be incorporated into the native religion.
Decline of the Vedas
One reason why the Vedas remained unpopular mostly after the Vedic period was the exclusive privileges the priestly class accorded to themselves in all matters concerning the Vedas and the rigidity with which they tried to guard these books from other sections of society.
The Vedas became secret knowledge, not to be heard or learned by those who were not qualified socially for such a purpose. This went against the spirit of the original tradition and did it a great damage.
Besides, the ascendance of empty ritualism over spiritualism and the failure of the vedic priests to answer some of the questions that perplexed and troubled the inquisitive and scholarly minds, made people to look in other directions for satisfactory answers.
The age of empty ritualism is now and here
Today a modern Hindu would carefully undergo the whole process of Vedic ritualism, without understanding the true significance of the mantras or their meaning with the indifference of a yogi or the impatience of a modern man.
Whether it is a naming ceremony, marriage ceremony, conception ceremony or funeral or some other religious ceremony, they observe the various samskaras and household rituals more out of respect towards their family traditions or out of fear of offending their ancestors and gods.
Truly speaking, the spirit of sincerity and of seriousness towards the Vedic traditions are difficult to come across in modern Hindu society. His conditioned mind, despite his preoccupations with modern day materialism, would prompt him to give a chance to tradition and earn whatever religious merit that might accrue in the process.
He might even show great respect and veneration towards the Vedas and the performance of the rituals. But it is doubtful if he has adequate familiarity with such matters and whether he would really like to follow them in letter and spirit. For inspiration, spiritual guidance and enlightenment he would, perhaps, look else where.
Modern Hinduism and the religious texts
There is no doubt in the minds of those who are closely observing the progress of Hinduism in modern times that the religion is gradually evolving from a religion of superficial ceremonies and rituals into a religion of deep spirituality and mysticism.
This development is in a way a very positive development and would ultimately establish Hinduism on firm footing in the modern age of technology and scientific realism. It is also good for the progressive evolution of religious thought in line with the growth of human civilization and the increasing awareness of the human mind. It would also save the modern man from irreligiousness by encouraging him to trust his own personal experience rather than any scriptural authority as a guide to his world- view and his spiritual solace.
So no wonder, modern Hinduism is increasingly becoming very cautious in its approach to all books of revelations and scriptural knowledge. It does not even seem to support the view that a particular way of life, belief, book or thinking alone would guarantee salvation to people.
It is wary of the ways of the mind, the fallacy of human thinking, the illusory nature of the world around, the impermanence and unreliability of all that is connected to human activity. Whether they emanate from the supposedly divine source, which most scriptures are, or from ones own mind or from an authoritative religious source, the words are but the medium through which the Transcendental Truth tries to enter our consciousness express itself. But having entered into the realm of the human consciousness, despite its power to illuminate the mind, it becomes liable for distortion and manipulation and subjected to the influence of maya or illusion.
The Vedas, the Upanishads, The Puranas, the two great epics, the Darshanas, the Sutras, the Smritis, the Bhagavad-Gita and a whole lot of religious literature, still carry a great significance on the religious lives of many Hindus. But it is doubtful if modern day Hinduism would buy the argument that these and these alone would ensure salvation to an individual, although it does emphasize that one should live and act in accordance with ones own dharma and the scriptures. Those who still trust their religious validity look for new meaning in them and others look else where for their perplexing questions.
The skepticism of a modern day Hindu, or perhaps his indifference or lack of interest towards all religious literature, is born out of the unlimited freedom Hinduism offers to him in his search for truth. He has the solace and the comfortable feeling of assurance that his religion and his scriptures give him the liberty to pursue truth in his own way. Besides the Upanishads and a number of books declare to him what constitutes true and superior knowledge and what does not. His mind therefore has the license to soar free into unknown regions of higher consciousness and come out with rare findings and new insights.
The Superior knowledge
The Upanishads and the Bhagavad-Gita are very clear in their approach in this regard. They consider the knowledge that is gained by reading the scriptures as inferior to the knowledge one gains through one own experience. Nothing is to be trusted or taken for granted, however authoritative the source may be, unless one tests it through ones own experience.
All scriptural knowledge is lower knowledge, which might lead an individual to heavens but would not guarantee salvation, where as the knowledge of Brahman and Brahman alone, gained through inner purification and self-transformation is much more superior, and would guarantee the final liberation from the cycle of birth and death. Besides the more educated a mind is, the greater is the need for its cleansing and purifying before it becomes receptive to divine knowledge. Knowledge hardens the ego, builds walls of resistance in the mind and blocks the entry of true Knowledge.
In Hinduism all Truths are welcome
In conclusion we can say that though modern day Hinduism does not rely upon a particular source of knowledge, it did drew its inspiration from a great body of diverse religious knowledge during the course of its evolution starting from the Vedic times till the present and it still continues to draw inspiration from several sources even today.
In the past it drew its inspiration mainly from the Vedas including the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas and the Upanishads which constituted the Shrutis (as heard), the Puranas and the epics which constituted the Smritis (as remembered), the various dharma shastras, karikas like Samkhya karika, sutras like Yoga Sutras or Brahma Sutras, the Bhashyas, the Agamas, the Vedangas, the bhakti literature, the tantras, the works of great saints like Shri Shankaracharya, Shri Ramanuja and so on.
Today, apart from the traditional literature, it draws its inspiration mainly
from the teachings and sayings of many modern day saints, gurus, Bhagawans, rishis, maharishis, peers, babas, saints, philosophers, even from the space research, atomic research, researches in parapsychology and so on. If there is one religion which can adopt to any environment and tune itself to any challenge, it is truly Hinduism. And if there is one religion which can survive without any particular preacher or a teaching, it is again Hinduism.
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